1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications and data networks, and more particularly, to a multi-service access platform for telecommunications and data networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Demand for communication services continues to rise dramatically. Every day, customers request that service providers provide additional types of communication services. For example, customers demand that the service providers provide remote-access services, voice over Internet (VoIP) services, and fax over Internet (FoIP) services through telecommunications and data networks. Remote-access services involve sending and receiving data to and from a computer and a server, respectively, typically through the telecommunications networks. The VoIP services allow for transmitting voice conversations through the data networks using the Internet protocol. Similar to VoIP, FoIP services allow for transmitting facsimile communications through the data networks using the Internet protocol. Customers demand other types of communication services in addition to those described here.
Manufacturers have responded to a need by the service providers to provide the additional types of communication services demanded by the customers. Manufacturers have developed solutions to upgrade the telecommunications and data networks. The solutions are designed to refit existing infrastructure. For example, network interfaces that facilitate exchange of voice and data signals in the telecommunications and data networks have a limited bandwidth. The manufacturers have developed ways to increase the bandwidth of the network interface by increasing a clock rate of the network interfaces. The increased bandwidth produced as a result of increasing the clock rate allows for the network interfaces to exchange an increased amount of voice and data signals in the telecommunications and data networks. Additionally, the manufacturers have developed network interfaces that conform to standard protocols such as time-division multiplexed (TDM) format, H.100, and H.110. The network interfaces allow for increased flexibility in the data signals that are exchanged by the telecommunications and data networks. The increase of the clock rate and the development of network interfaces that conform to the standard protocols optimize the telecommunications and data networks to provide the customers with the types of communication services demanded.